Port Tobacco times, and Charles County advertiser. (Port Tobacco, Md.) 1845-1898, 1887-07-08
who Is Protected!

who Is Protected!
Pittsburg. Pa, is shipping shovels to
Australia, and successfully competing with
the same good of English make. Pitts
burg makes up for this by selling the
same shovels to the American farmer for
double the price it charges the Australian.
They are able to do this because the tariff
shuts off competition and creates mono
poly of the home market. Singers Com
pany sells its American-made sewing
machines in London and Liverpool for
one-half the price it charges its customers
in the United States. Does anybody see
where the profits to the farmer, mechanic
and labering man come in under our
present prohibitory TARIFF The differ
ence in price for which the articles are
sold in the foreign and home market does
not go into the United States Treasury to
lesson taxation, but into the pockets Of
the manufacturer. This tariff simply
legislates the money out of the pockets OF
one and puts it into the pockets of an
other. 1t is worse than highway robbery.
tits legislative robbery, and legalized
system of plundering the masses of the
people for the benefit of the large monopo-
lies and manufacturers.-Pens Ella
Commercial.
This journal strikes upon an apt illus
tration OF the iniquity of the protective
tariff system and the fallacious arguments
by which it is attempted to be sustained,
when it draws parallel between the in
dustries protected by patent right, such
as sewing machines, and the other indus
tries protected by the prohibitory tariff
The letters patent and the protective tariff
in its original conception and operation,
were based on similar theories-the en-
couragement and protection of new in
dustry in its incipient stages. The former
is intended to give the inventor of a use.
full device monopoly in the disposition
of his'invention for specified period OF
time, as an encouragement to useful inven-
tions for the benefit of mankind The
latter, as originally adopted, was designed
to give the home manufactures of useful
articles large margin of profit in the sale
of his manufactures, by means of a more
or less heavy import tax upon foreign i'm
portations, as an encouragement to enter
prising people to invest the necessary
amount of capital in the requisite machin-
cry to establish factories in America.
Both Of these methods of protection Of
particular classes at the expense of the
masses of the people were designed to he
OF temporary duration. The letters patent
are expressly limited by law to the period
of seventeen years, during which the in
ventor is presumed to realize sufficient
emolument from his monopoly to reward
his ingenuity and the outlay he has made
After this the competition of other manu-
features is let in and the people are en-
abled to purchase the invention at a value
properly proportional to the cost of pro-
duction. So the protective tariff, as orig
inally designed, was only intended to
cover infantile period of our newly estab-
lished home manufacturing industries
and the masses of the American people
were appealed to from patriotic motives to
endure the increased cost OF the necessaries
of life which it would involve, for time,
until these infant industries could get
fairly on their feet, in order that our indie
pendence of foreign nations in the matter
of manufactures, might be established
No definite period was fixed for the dura-
tion of the protective tariff; but when
Henry Clay, the father of the protective
system, offered his compromise bill in
1843, he conceded that the infantile per-
iod of The great majority Of industries,
during which they needed the succor of
protection, had already passed, while that
of the remaining ones would expire dur
ing certain definite periods specified in
the compromise bill.
And SO the protection of the infant
American industries through the medium
of the tariff was conceded on all sides to
have expired by limitation prior to the
civil war and the tariff had been adjusted
for the disruption and confusion attendant
upon the war between the States, there is
no doubt that this would have remained
finally settled question in the polity Of
this government. The rich manufacturers,
whose wealth was steadily increasing
would scarcely have had the hsrdihood to
apply to the government for the succor due
to infants or for any further protection
from the legitimate competition of foreign
manufactures than the cost of transporta-
ton added to a strictly revenue tariff
But the war came on, and the greatly in
creased revenues necessary for the organi.
cation and maintenance of armies made 9
large increase in taxation necessary. Thus
a revenue tariff, which in time of peace
had been low one, not at all burdensome
to the people. now became very heavy
and onerous tax upon nearly all the neces-
saries OF lie.
After the war was over and the dimin-
ished expenses of the government no
longer required these high taxes, the peo-
pie naturally began to clamor for reduc-
ton of the war tariff; but the manufactures
were unwilling to give up their large pro-
fits and the Republican party, securely
entrenched in power, once more revived
the protective theory. Aided by liberal
contributions to its campaign funds from
the illegimiate profits of the manufactur-
ers, it has steadily resisted every effort to
reduce these onerous war taxes and SO the
tariff question again became vital one
in American politics.
But every indication now points to q
just and final settlement of the question
in the not distant future on strictly
revenue basis. The people will not be
IL, L 81. T.,